Customer Reviews

The Blackening (W/Dvd) (Spec)

5 star:		(69)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

It's been a long uphill battle for Machine Head in the 14+ years they have spent in the music business. Sure, they got off on the right foot with the acclaimed Burn My Eyes, but after that, things seemed to get hazy for the group. In 1999, they teamed with Korn/Limp Bizkit producer Ross Robinson for Burning Red, which, despite being a great album in it's own right, set the stage for the next few years of the bands career. By 2001, Machine Head had slowly slipped into nu-metal territory, and of the worst kind, and thus, we got Supercharger, which is undeniably the band's worst effort. Thankfully, they got things right and in 2004, Through the Ashes of Empires saw the light of day and saw Machine Head turning once again to the sound that made them in the first place, while embracing all the musical experiments on the previous four albums.

So what's the point in the history lesson? To understand why Machine Head's return to form has been so triumphant. "The Blackening" is hands down, without a doubt, the best thing Machine Head have done since 1994. One listen to the opening epic, "Clenching The Fists Of Dissent," and you're opinion of Machine Head will be forever altered. I'd hate for this review to be just mindless hype, but everything you've been hearing so far is true. "The Blackening" is a masterpiece. Opening and closing with songs that push past the ten-minute mark each, "The Blackening" is a bold statement from a band who have finally stopped giving into label pressures, stopped trying to mimic everyone else's style, and generally, just stopped caring what anyone thinks. "Now I Lay Thee Down" is about the most conventional the album gets, but even that's a stretch. Even the shorter tracks, such as "Slanderous" push Machine Head over the edge as far as musicianship goes. Phil Demmel and frontman Rob Flynn play off each other almost as if their minds were one. Despite metal's tendency to show off, Machine Head's work on "The Blackening" is not. Every little sound they add to the stew just makes it all the more powerful, all the more memorable, and all the more musical.

It's only March, and yet I believe 2007 has it's best metal album already. It's going to be a long time until someone comes along and tops this -- and coming from a band like Machine Head, who have been so inconsistent in the past -- who would have expected it? Great for them, though. I don't think anyone will question them ever again. Machine Head have proven that there are second chances in this business and more importantly, have delivered a pure-metal album that is just about perfect.

For me, Burn My Eyes was the Machine Head album that was the basis for comparison for the rest of their work. This is now changed, as The Blackening is not only Machine Head's best album, it is one of the best metal albums I have ever heard.

It's amazing that a band can go from making a sub par album like Supercharger to making a great album like Through the Ashes of Empires. I was glad of their return to form with that CD, but the Blackening is even more than a return to form. It is a reinvention. They've taken the great riffing and precice timing of Burn My Eyes and imbued it with a tone that is both brutally angry and chillingly haunting at the same time. Many of the tracks have slow, melodic passages with amazing bass lines, acoustic guitar parts and a chorus of background vocals and then lead into riffing so brutal you almost forget you are listning to the same song. Also, as with BME and TtAoE, they intermix modern style riffing with catchy style riffs that are definitely 80s influenced, making them a metal band that anyone can love. The guitar solos in these songs act as more than just talent showcases for the artists, they flow with the song and with some songs they are the best part.

1) Cleching The Fists of Dissent: Wow! Possibly my favorite song on the album and maybe my favorite from the band (though Imperium is hard to top). The intro to this song reminds me of 'Fight Fire with Fire' on Metallica's 'Ride the Litghtning'. It starts out with a mellow acoustic passage and then bursts into a brutal riff with angry vocals and lyrics to back it. This is an epic track, clocking in at 9:36 with not a second wasted. (I particularly like the part at about 6:30 'FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!) 10/10

2) Beautiful Mourning: No slow acoustic intro here, this song wastes no time as it starts with a nice fast, galloping riff. I liked this song but didn't think much of it until it got to the chorus, which is actually more than halfway through the song. The chorus is a great blend of heavy guitars and over the top volcals and lyrics that you can't help but sing along to. Great track. 8/10

3) Aesthetics Of Hate: Perhaps the most easily accessable song, I could see this being a single. It is also the angriest, being a retaliation of an anti Dimebag Daryl article written after his death. It reminds me of 'Seasons' era Slayer, it has a very 80s vibe to it with catchy riffs and hooks and a good angry vibe all around. The solo sections are great as is the slow tempo section with the reverbrating vocals (May the hand of God strike them... DOWN......) Another great one. 8/10

4) Now I Lay Thee Down: There isn't really a bad song on this album, but I think this may be my least favorite. It has more of a commercial feel to it than the rest of the tracks and is slower in tempo. It does have some faster, angrier sections, as everything does on this album, but overall it's not my favorite tune. 6/10

5) Slanderous: Wow, another crushing track. I don't know how they managed to come up with so many great riffs for this album. This song is great all the way through, with the usual blend of modern riffs and old school riffs that make this band great. There almost seems to be a little bit of an Iron Maiden influence in this song. Great, great stuff.
8/10

6) Halo: My favorite track after the first. This one is epic (at 9:03) with so many different sections and also not a wasted minute. The choruses, the riffs, the solos, everything is great. 9/10

7)Wolves: Another epic, very heavy track. The riffs didn't catch me as much as with Halo, but this is a brutal song, almost Halo part II. Another great one, of course. 8/10

8) A Farewell to Arms: Man, this album doesn't cease to amaze. This song is another epic and the longest of them all at 10:12. Like the first track, it starts out with a Metallica style slow tempo into and busts into the amazing, brutal riffing. A fantastic closer to this masterpiece of an album. 8/10

I can't stress enough how amazing this album is. Five stars is not enough. You can tell that the band put all they had into this album, as it bleeds with passion, anger and soul. It has definitely made it into my top 10 metal albums of all time, up there with Metallica's Ride the Lightning, Slayer's Seasons in the Abyss and Anthrax' Persistance of Time. Metal is alive and can still be as great as it used to be. This album is proof. Machine Head, you have just become legend.

Nowadays, it seems like just about every modern-metal band is trying desperately to escape being tagged "metalcore" (a genre that is supposedly on its way out). Most haven't yet succeeded in doing so, but to some bands, "metalcore" is nothing more than a quickly fading object in their rear-view mirror.

After releasing their debut, "Burn My Eyes" (which is groove/post-metal landmark), in 1994, Machine Head began experimenting with their sound by releasing a series of mediocre and uneven albums which were substantially softer, and even arguably nu-metal-ish. As a result, the band lost a large part of their fanbase. But then, in 2004, they stormed back onto the scene with a triumphant return to form, "Through The Ashes Of Empires." Unfortunately, heavy metal (and the metalcore genre, in particular) was at the peak of its popularity that year, so some fans thought of "Ashes" as just a trend jump. But now, three years after that, the Oakland-based quartet have released their sixth studio effort, "The Blackening," an album that leaves mere "metalcore" and "groove metal" in the dust. In fact, throw out all of the categories, because Machine Head are now in a class by themselves.

"The Blackening" sounds like a mix of old and new. Frontman Rob Flynn (who was once in a Nineties thrash band called Vio-lence) draws a bit from his own past by filling these songs with intense tempos, excellent riffs, and killer solos which evoke the Bay Area's glory days. Plus, "The Blackening" recaptures much of the same raw energy, emotion, visceral impact, and iron-fisted aggression as 2004's "Through The Ashes Of Empires." But in no way is this just a simple throwback album, because it expands a great deal on Machine Head's sound, musicianship, and songwriting skills. T hese songs are friggin' epics -- they range from just under five minutes to over ten and a half minutes long, and are, musically, a lot more complex, meticulous, and multi-faceted than anything MH have ever attempted. (Flynn plays a big part in the band's growth by frequently showing off his surprisingly strong singing voice and intelligent, inspiring, often politically-charged lyrics.)

Every track on this record is a winner; it's darn near impossible to find a single dud or weak moment anywhere on here. Whether opting for brutal and straightforward or more restrained and slowly-building songs, Machine Head almost always make sure the music bristles with intensity and unpredictability. Opener "Clenching The Fists of Dissent" begins quietly and slowly, with mysterious acoustic guitar strums, but in not too long, a breakneck tempo change kicks in, launching the listener into a river of furious riffing. The guitarists (Phil Demmel and the above-mentioned Rob Flynn) toss in a pair of superbly ripping solos near the end, too. Then, an explosive barrage of thick, hefty, churning guitars and hard-hitting drums back Flynn while he bellows "F you all!" from his gut, thus signifying the made-for-moshing beginning of "Beautiful Morning." The next track, "Aesthetics of Hate," boasts a quick, bouncy drum beat, and a wealth of great guitar melodies and harmonies (including a fairly long solo section), before ending with a dark and spine-tingling spoken-word passage where Flynn repeats "May the hand of God strike them down" several times. "Aesthetics of Hate" is also of note for it lyrical content because it is a livid tirade against a journalist who wrote an insulting article about Pantera/Damageplan guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott only a week after his tragic murder in 2004.

Elsewhere, "Now I Lay Thee Down" and "A Farewell To Arms" both have quite a bit of clean, proper singing (in fact, the latter track even features some supple, even borderline-sweet crooning), thus making them probably the record's two most melodic and restrained cuts. "Slanderous" and "Halo" are also of note because they sport heavy, propulsive riffs, catchy, adherent grooves, and wailing solos. And, lastly, track seven, "Wolves," takes the cake for being "The Blackening"'s biggest highlight. This song is over nine-minutes of sheer awesomeness! Most of it is super fast and heavy (with an absolutely blistering thrash guitar lead, deft, thumping drums, and four wild, careening solos); but somehow, the song also always manages to be super catchy, and it includes a very memorable and powerful chorus ("Unleash the wolves!") that ranks right up there in greatness with the chorus from "Davidian" (the world-renowned first track on 1994's "Burn Your Eyes").

"The Blackening" is an opus that practically has "greatness" written all over it, and all metalheads should fall in love with it very quickly. In addition to being the best heavy music release of 2007 thus far, this album is doubtlessly MH's most godly, epic, masterful, brilliant, intricate, expansive, exhilarating, and realized work to date. It silences every doubt and answers every question skeptics have ever had about Machine Head. Yes, they are still relevant; yes, they are still inspired; yes, they can still shred almost anybody's musical pants off; and yes, they are still fully capable of making a killer album that is sure to go down in history as a classic. Now only one question remains: how in the world will they ever top this one?!

Although this is a double dip it is one of an album that will go down in history as one of the best in metal. The cd has all the songs from the original release and as every Machine Head fan knows they are awesome. Although this time it comes with 2 extra tracks on it. Hallowed Be Thy Name by Iron Maiden and Battery by Metallica from the Metal Hammer tributes and they are great additions to this already perfect cd. They cover the songs perfectly while giving them a little Machine Head flavor. Great first disc.

But the main reason to get this is the bonus DVD. They don't give you a half hearted effort as most bands do when they re release an album. This DVD is stacked with great performances. All pro shot and incredible sound quality. Although they are all great the 2 that stand out are 2 that not many have seen. First is them playing Clenching The Fists Of Dissent, Now I Lay Thee Down, and Halo From their headlining performance at the Full Force Festival. The quality and intensity of the band are here in full force :) . They are perfect and this is the best sounding of the performances. Next are 4 songs from the Burn My Eyes 10th anniversary show which is incredible as well. They play A thousand lie, The Rage To Overcome, Death Church, and Blood for Blood perfectly and only make you hope the whole show will be released in the future. This is by far the holy grail of the DVD but there is so much more. They show them playing Imperium and Old from last years Donnington Download Festival which was amazing. Most publications considered them the best performance over the 3 day event and one even included it as the 7th best performance in the history of metal and that's no lie. The last of the live footage is them at the Rock in Rio Festival. They play Aesthetics of Hate and Davidian to perfection in front of and enormous crowd. I'm in awe of how incredible the live footage is here. This alone would make it worth it but there's more. A great little documentary on the making of The Blackening which is great as it shows them arranging the songs and explaining the concept behind the killer artwork of the album and the inspiration behind the songs. Another nice bonus. They finish off with 3 videos from the album which are Aesthetics of Hate(which I was at the Norva the night they filmed the live part of it), Now I Lay Thee Down, and Halo and teh making of each of the videos. An awesome bonus to the already classic cd. Metal fans, Machine Head fans. This is a no brainer. While I'm not big on re releasing albums Machine head, who have always been a fans band make this re issue more than worth it. The only thing I can hope for is in the future to release a stacked DVD with the complete sets from these festivals and the BME show. Go now, support this incredible band. You won't be disappointed as the cd is perfect and the DVD is over the top incredible. It's worth every penny. So I highly recommend any metal fan pick this up. You most definitely won't regret it. An awesome, inspiring, release!

What a killer CD. That makes two in a row for Machine Head. This CD is filled with heavy riffs and some great guitar harmonies. Robb's voice sounds great here. From growling & screaming to actual singing & soft vocals. This is also possibly the best Dave McClain has sounded since he joined MH so long ago. The drum work is awesome. All & all a great CD. Production is top notch. The best song is "Wolves".

My only small nitpick is that we didn't get the DVD & bonus track(cover of Metallica's Battery) like Japan & the UK did. I imported from Amazon Japan. Its a region free DVD for those who are curious.

I can't believe the depth of this album. Rich, complex....not your average metal. Brutal and beautiful..like football.

When I first heard Machine Head a few years back, I dismissed them as your stereotypical nu-metal band trying to cash in on the trend. I was ignorant to Burn My Eyes and didn't bother noticing Through the Ashes of Empires.

Well, one night while wandering around my local hypermarket, I saw The Blackening in the CD rack. I remembered reading some decent articles on it in Revolver and Decibel and, without even having heard a track, took a gamble and bought the CD.

What a great idea that was.

The album has 8 tracks, yet is over an hour long. Every song is so over the top that it's pure metal decadence. "Clenching the Fists of Dissent", the opening track, is over 10 minutes and barely prepares you for all of the bone-jarring breakdowns, high-flying solos, pounding drums, and anti-establishment lyrics that this album throws at you. I could go on and list all of the highlights of the songs on this album, but it's best stated that this album serves as an example of what's right in modern thrash metal. If you're a bigger fan of songs that are direct and to the point, then you'd probably get a big kick out of "Beautiful Mourning", "Aesthetics of Hate", and "Slanderous". However, the songs that stood out to me on the album to be the best are the ones that I considered the most melodic and progressive: "Clenching the Fists of Dissent", "Now I Lay Thee Down", and my personal favorite "A Farewell to Arms."

Again, "A Farewell to Arms" is in my opinion the most outstanding song on album, not to mention the song that I feel best summarizes the elements found throughout the album.

This album makes me ask so many questions: What if Phil Demmel was in the band earlier? What if Roadrunner didn't try pushing them into nu-metal when that style was popular? Would this album be considered as great as it is if Metallica (one of their larger influences) still wrote music with this type of tenacity? You know what, forget the questions and go with the now: This album rules!

Bottom line: If you haven't bought this album already, you're wasting time! Get it now!

Machine Head blew out of the gates in 1994 with their debut album, "Burn My Eyes", widely considered one of the best metal albums of the '90s. After several albums in which MH experimented with their style (with mixed results), many wondered if they could ever achieve the heights reached earlier in their career. As "The Blackening" proves, they can even surpass it.

Perhaps the fans have been unfair to Machine Head....I thought that their follow-up to their initial album "The More Things Change..." was a very solid metal platter, and other subsequent releases, such as "Burning Red" and "Supercharger" were still decent, just flirting with other styles such as rap-metal and industrial, which didn't really gel with the bands' super-heavy, aggresssive neo-thrash metal. What makes "The Blackening" so special is the fact that the band have finally settled into playing what they want to play, and have begun pushing themselves musically into almost progressive metal directions- lengthy, complex and epic compositions, intense instrumental interludes and interplay between instruments and band members, and crazy, out-of-control shred soloing. They absolutely blow their previous work out of the water with this disc, and it is quite an exhilirating ride, at times.

Lyrically, conceptually, and musically, this is miles above anything they have ever done. One listen to "The Aesthetics Of Hate" was enough for me...classic metal nihilism and agression, super heavy riffing, and a huge, intense crescendo of almost neo-classical-style guitar harmony combined with a modern "metalcore" sensibility building to a huge climax. Very, very cool. This is MH at their best, proving that they can hold their own against any other metal band out there. Awesome. Highest recommendation. I've been a fans since the beginning, and this is the Machine Head album I've always wanted.

Infamous post-thrash metal band Machine Head releases their sixth album, which is titled "The Blackening", and this is their most epic album to date. If you thought that "Through The Ashes of Empires" was a return to form, this surpasses it. We have eight tracks here, ranging from 3 minutes to 10 minutes. Tracks like "Aesthetics of Hate" and "Slanderous" will remind you of how metal should be played. Even after 13 years since their debut, "Burn My Eyes", Machine Head has not let up. The guitar parts are amazing, Robb Flynn still remains an excellent vocalist, and Dave McClain's drumming is superb.

Overall, this could be a landmark in today's modern metal scene. If you're getting tired of the usual, pop in "The Blackening", and sit back while you listen to this masterpiece of an album.

What can i say about this album that hasnt already been said, great thrashy riffs, memorable solos, powerful lyrics that bring raw emotion and anger, and awesome drumming. since i bought the cd its all i have been listening to, i mean i could write a damn essay about how much this cd does right and then go that extra step. a must by for not just metal fans but a fan of great music.

p.s. was listening to THE BLACKENING while writing the review, yup that awesome